Wellbore Caliper With Maximum Diameter Seeking Feature

ABSTRACT

A wellbore caliper includes an actuator housing pivotally connected at one end to a well logging instrument housing and an actuator disposed in the housing and operable to extend and retract laterally extensible measuring arms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/597,659, filed Aug. 29, 2012, which is herein incorporatedby reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to the field of calipers used tomeasure internal dimensions of wellbores drilled through subsurfaceformations. More specifically, the disclosure relates to calipers withfeatures to assist in seeking the largest internal dimension of awellbore even under conditions of a well logging instrument “string”being held toward a bottom of the wellbore by gravity.

Various forms of calipers are known in the art for measuring internaldiameter of a wellbore drilled through subsurface formations. Examplesof calipers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,826, “DecentralizedWell Logging Apparatus for Measuring the diameter of a Borehole AlongIts Perpendicular Diametrical Axis”, issued to Nold, and U.S. Pat. No.2,102,080, Well Surveying Device, issued to M. M. Kinley. Other calipersmay be associated with various sensors, for example gamma-gamma densitysensors or “dipmeter” or formation imaging sensors. See, e.g., U.S. Pat.No. 4,529,877 issued to Arnold.

There continues to be a need for calipers that can seek a largestdiameter of the wellbore even when the instrument string is drawn to thebottom (lower side) of the wellbore by gravity.

SUMMARY

A wellbore caliper includes an actuator housing pivotally connected atone end to a well logging instrument housing and an actuator disposed inthe housing and operable to extend and retract laterally extensiblemeasuring arms.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and claims which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a ground out wellbore having a nominaldiameter of 6.25 inches.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show examples of wellbores that have become ovalized froma nominal round hole diameter of 6.25 inches.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a wellbore having ovalization caused bytectonic stresses in the formation released by drilling therethrough andsubsequent fracturing.

FIG. 5 shows an example caliper with measuring arms in the closedposition.

FIG. 6 shows the example caliper of FIG. 5 with the measuring arms inthe open position.

FIG. 6A shows an example adjustable spring to provide lift to theactuator housing.

FIGS. 6B through 6D show various views of features in the measuring armsto provide suitable operation of a latch.

FIG. 7 shows a cut away view of the caliper measurement housingincluding an example biasing element.

FIG. 8 shows an example linkage between the measuring arms and a calipermeasurement transfer rod.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show an example actuator in more detail.

FIG. 11 shows an example well logging instrument system including anexample caliper.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of an example wellbore, drilled with a 6.25inch diameter bit that may have become ground out toward the bottom ofthe wellbore by rotation of drill pipe, sliding of drill pipe duringmovement of the pipe in and out of the wellbore, and movement of varioustools and instruments along the wellbore. In cases where the wellbore ishighly inclined from vertical, or even horizontal, gravity can increasethe effects which create wellbore cross-sectional shapes such as shownin FIG. 1.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show cross-sections of wellbores that have becomeoval-shaped, again by action of drilling tools, drill pipe and othereffects.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a core 40 from an actual wellbore showingevidence of rock failure and subsequent diameter enlargement along aparticular stress axis, e.g., 315 degrees from North as shown in FIG. 4.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show, respectively, closed and open positions of a caliperthat may measure the largest internal diameter of wellbores such asthose shown in FIGS. 1 through 4. The caliper 10 may form part of agamma-gamma density instrument , the skid or chassis 12 of which mayengage the gravitationally lowest side of a wellbore in wellbores thatare not vertical. The skid or chassis 12, however may exclude suchdensity measuring devices. An actuator housing 20 may be coupled to theskid with a pivot and spring combination 22. The pivot and spring 22 mayenable the actuator housing to pivot upwardly at the end opposite thepivot and spring 22. The spring (not shown separately in FIGS. 5 and 6)may have adjustable force so that when submerged in drilling fluid in awellbore, the actuator housing 20 and associated hardware 19, 18 and 16(explained further below) may be substantially neutrally buoyant. Theuser may adjust the spring 22 force to reflect the density of the fluidin the wellbore for such purpose. A more detailed view of an spring andpivot combination is shown in FIG. 6A. The actuator housing 20 may becoupled to the chassis 12 using a pivot pin 38 (see FIG. 8) such thatthe longitudinal axis of the actuator housing 20 may be angularlydeflected with respect to the longitudinal axis of the chassis 12. Aselectable amount of deflecting force may be applied to the actuatorhousing 20 by a spring assembly 22. In the present example, the springassembly 22 may include one or more coil springs 22A that may applyforce against that part of the actuator housing 20 across the pivot pin38, thus urging the actuator housing 20 away from the chassis 12. Anamount of spring force may be selected by an adjuster 22B associatedwith each spring. The adjusters 22B may be cup type spring retainersengaged within a corresponding threaded hole (not shown) in part of thechassis 12. Rotating the adjusters 22B may thus change the uncompressedheight of the coil springs 22A, thereby applying a selected amount oflifting force to the actuator housing 20. In some examples, theadjusters 22B may be set so that the actuator housing 20 and attachedcomponents may be substantially neutrally buoyant in the drilling fluidin a wellbore (FIG. 11) based on the fluid density and the expectedinclination of the wellbore.

FIGS. 6B through 6D show the measuring arms 16 in the closed position toillustrate features enabling operation of the latch 14. A portion ofeach measuring arm 16 proximate the longitudinal position of the latchmay be shaped to fit around a portion of the latch 14 below a widerportion 14 on the upper portion of the latch when the arms 16 areclosed. The arms may each have a stop feature 17 at a longitudinalposition away from the latch 14 so that the arms 16 cannot fully closearound the latch 14 but may be retained from outward movement by the top14A of the latch. When the arms 16 are opened by the actuator (FIG. 6),the arms are no longer retained by the latch 14 and the actuator housingis free to pivot outwardly as explained with reference to FIG. 6.

To return the actuator housing to its fully inwardly pivoted positionagainst the chassis (FIG. 5), after full retraction of the actuator 20,it may be possible to draw the caliper tool 10 through a selecteddiameter opening so that the arms 16 engage the latch 14. Such operationmay enable the caliper tool to be lowered into the wellbore (FIG. 10)another time. Otherwise, the caliper tool may only move in an upwarddirection (out of the wellbore) after the arms 16 are allowed to openfor the first time.

An actuator linkage 18 may be disposed at the opposite end of theactuator housing 20. An actuator rod 19 may be disposed inside theactuator housing 20 and may be withdrawn, for example by an hydrauliccylinder/piston combination or a motor/screw/ballnut combination (noneshown in FIGS. 5 and 6) in order to close the caliper 10. When thecaliper 10 is closed (FIG. 5) caliper measuring arms 16 may berestrained by a catch 14 or similar latch that may engage matingfeatures in the measuring arms 16.

FIG. 7 shows an example biasing element 24, such as a spring, which maybe used to move the actuator rod (19 in FIG. 6) outwardly from theactuator housing 20 in order to open the caliper 10.

FIG. 8 shows an example actuator linkage 18 to connect the actuator rod19 to the measuring arms 16 so that force from the biasing element canbe transferred through the actuator rod 19 to cause the measuring arms16 to pivotally open laterally away from the longitudinal axis of thecaliper 10. A first linkage head 26 may be coupled at one end, e.g., bya set screw, roll pin or the like to the end of the actuator rod 19. Thefirst linkage head may include a first pivot pin 25 disposed proximateits other end in a direction transverse to the motion of the actuatorrod 19. First pivot links 24 may be arranged in corresponding slots inthe first linkage head 26 and be rotatable about the first pivot pin 25.An end of each measuring arm 16 may include a slot and receptacle toreceive a second pivot pin 23. Each measuring arm 16 may be pivotallycoupled to the =chassis (12 in FIG. 1) with a third pivot pin 21 so thatextension of the actuator rod 19 may cause laterally outward movement ofthe measuring arms 16. Diameter of the wellbore may be inferred by thelongitudinal position of the actuator rod 19, because the foregoingdescribed linkage elements enable direct correlation of caliper armextension to actuator position. The actuator rod 19 may be coupled to aposition measuring device such as a linear variable differentialtransformer (not shown in FIG. 8) or any similar linear positiondetermination device. In other examples, a rotary position encoder (notshown) may be coupled to the pivoted portion, i.e., proximate thirdpivot pin 21, of one or both measuring arms 16 to infer the diameter ofthe wellbore.

During operation of the caliper in a wellbore, the biasing element (24in FIG. 7) urges the actuator rod (19 in FIG. 6) outward, which in turnurges the measuring arms (16 in FIG. 8) to extend laterally. Because theactuator housing (20 in FIG. 6) may be substantially neutrally buoyantin the drilling fluid in the wellbore, it may be enabled to “float” withmovement of the measuring arms (16 in FIG. 8) upward and downward withrespect to the cross section of the wellbore. Thus, the measuring arms(16 in FIG. 8) may be free to move to the largest diameter part of thewellbore and make a measurement of such diameter.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show an example actuator in more detail. A motor 36, suchas an electric motor, may be disposed in the actuator housing proximateits upper end. A coupling 34 may join the motor 30 to a ball screw 32.Rotation of the motor 30 will act on the ball screw to cause it to movelongitudinally within the actuator housing. Such action may be used toretract the actuator rod 19 to close the caliper 10. The ball screw maybe coupled to the spring 24 and actuator rod using a slip joint 30. Apivot pin 38 allows the actuator housing 20 to lift, as shown in FIG. 6.A position sensor may be located such as shown at 40.

FIG. 11 shows a wellbore 101 formed in an earth formation 102, thewellbore 101 being filled with drilling fluid. The wellbore 101 may havean upper portion provided with a casing 104 extending from a drillingrig (not shown) at the surface 108 into the wellbore 101 to a casingshoe 105, and an open lower portion 107 extending below the casing shoe105. A tubular drill string 109 containing a body of drilling fluid 110and having an open lower end 111 may extend from the drilling rig intothe wellbore 101 whereby the open lower end 111 is arranged in the openlower wellbore portion 107. A logging tool string 112 capable of beinglowered or raised through the drill string 109, may be retrievablysuspended in the drill string 109 by suitable means (not shown). Thelogging string 112 may include various well logging instrument sensors,including, without limitation, gamma ray sensors, resistivity sensors,acoustic sensors, neutron sensors and density sensors. The loggingstring may include a density sensor 114 having a caliper 10 as explainedabove, and a fluid pressure pulse device 118 arranged at the upper sideof the logging tool string 112, whereby the logging tool string 112extends below the lower end part 111 of the drill string 109 and thepressure pulse device 118 is arranged within the drill string 109. Thedensity tool 114 may be powered by a battery (not shown) and may beprovided with an electronic memory (not shown) for storing logging data.The fluid pressure pulse device 118, if used, has a variable flowrestriction (not shown) which is controlled by electric signalstransmitted by the logging tool string 112 to the pressure pulse device118, which signals represent part of the logging data produced by thelogging tool string 112 during logging of the earth formation 102. Theupper end of the logging tool string 112 may be provided with a latch120 for latching of a wireline (not shown) to the string 112. A wellhead122 may be connected to the upper end of the casing 104 and is providedwith an outlet conduit 124 debouching in a drilling fluid reservoir 126provided with a suitable sieve means (not shown) for removing drillcuttings from the drilling fluid. A pump 128 having an inlet 130 and anoutlet 132 is arranged to pump drilling fluid from the fluid reservoir126 into the upper end of the drill string 109. A control system 134located at surface is connected to the drill string 109 for sending orreceiving fluid pressure pulses in the body of drilling fluid 110 to orfrom the fluid pressure pulse device 118. It should be clearlyunderstood that the example logging tool string, its manner ofconveyance into the wellbore, and the presence of casing in any part ofthe wellbore are meant only to serve as examples and are not intended tolimit the scope of this disclosure. Any means known in the art forconveying a logging tool or logging tool string into a wellbore, such ascoiled tubing, wireline, slickline, tubing, etc. may be used with acaliper and/or logging tool string as described above.

A caliper according to the present example may be able to measure thelargest internal diameter of an out of round wellbore, particularly incases of highly inclined or horizontal wells that have been made out ofround as explained with reference to FIGS. 1-4.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of thisdisclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised whichdo not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein.Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by theattached claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wellbore caliper, comprising: an actuatorhousing pivotally connected at one end to a well logging instrumenthousing; an actuator disposed in the housing and operable to extend andretract laterally extensible measuring arms, wherein the actuatorhousing is substantially neutrally buoyant in a wellbore.
 2. (canceled)3. The caliper of claim 1 wherein the actuator comprises a motor andball screw.
 4. The caliper of claim 1 wherein the actuator comprises abiasing element.
 5. The caliper of claim 1 wherein the biasing elementcomprises a spring.
 6. The caliper of claim 1 further comprising a latchdisposed between the measuring arms, the latch configured to retain themeasuring arms in a closed position.
 7. The caliper of claim 1 furthercomprising an actuator rod coupled to the actuator and arranged to movelongitudinally with respect to the actuator housing.
 8. The caliper ofclaim 6 further comprising a linkage coupled to one end of the actuatorrod, the linkage configured to translate longitudinal motion of theactuator into lateral motion of the measuring arms.
 9. The caliper ofclaim 1 further comprising a position sensor operatively coupled to theactuator.
 10. The caliper of claim 8 wherein the position sensorcomprises a linear variable differential transformer.
 11. A method forwell logging, comprising: moving a well logging tool along an interiorof a wellbore drilled through formations, the well logging toolcomprising a caliper, the caliper comprising an actuator housingpivotally connected at one end to a well logging instrument housing, anactuator disposed in the housing and operable to extend and retractlaterally extensible measuring arms; and measuring an internal dimensionof the wellbore by determining a lateral extension of the measuringarms.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the caliper further comprisesan adjustable spring cooperatively engaged with the pivotal connectionsuch that the actuator housing is substantially neutrally buoyant in thewellbore.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein the actuator comprises amotor and ball screw.
 14. The method of claim 11 wherein the actuatorcomprises a biasing element.
 15. The method of claim 11 wherein thebiasing element comprises a spring.
 16. The method of claim 11 furthercomprising a latch disposed between the measuring arms, the latchconfigured to retain the measuring arms in a closed position.
 17. Themethod of claim 16 further comprising moving the caliper tool through aselected diameter opening to close the arms about the latch and toreturn the actuator housing to a fully retracted position against achassis of the caliper tool.
 18. The method of claim 11 furthercomprising moving an actuator rod coupled to the actuator and arrangedto move longitudinally with respect to the actuator housing.
 19. Themethod of claim 17 further comprising moving a linkage coupled to oneend of the actuator rod, the linkage configured to translatelongitudinal motion of the actuator into lateral motion of the measuringarms.
 20. The method of claim 18 further comprising determining aposition of the actuator using a position sensor operatively coupled tothe actuator.
 21. The method of claim 18 wherein the position sensorcomprises a linear variable differential transformer.